Batman: The Dark Knight #7Review

Share.

Bane prepares to break the Bat all over again.

By Jesse Schedeen

The tragedy of Bane is that he's a great villain who's so rarely written well. Gail Simone was the first writer in a long time to really touch on the strange nobility and fearsome will that define him. Free of the influence of Venom, he's a Machiavellian genius with an indomitable will. The end of Secret Six promised a big future for Bane in the New 52. Instead, we have Batman: The Dark Knight.

If nothing else, issue #7 deserves credit for actually sticking with the same villain as the previous one. Until now, The Dark Knight has been a revolving door for Batman's rogues to drift in and out of the picture at random. Unfortunately, David Finch and Paul Jenkins offer up a take on Bane that falls way too close to the 'roided-out buffoon of the '90s. There's no depth to Bane or his relationship with Batman anymore. The character claims to be smarter than ever, but his every action and scrap of dialogue screams otherwise.

Honestly, though, the writers don't seem to display a much better grasp on Batman himself. The character has been completely reactionary in this arc, showing none of his usual crafty intelligence or talent for planning ahead. At some point it becomes difficult to even care when Bats seems on the verge of having his spine snapped again. At least it would put him and his readers out of their misery. For a book that purports to be the "summer blockbuster" of the Batman franchise, it really isn't much fun to read.

While Finch's artwork may be a selling point for many, the artist is hardly in top form here. His great strength is the sheer amount of detail he's able to cram into every panel, but the rigid monthly schedule ensures that those details are lacking. Figures are loose and lacking in emotion. The action sequences are haphazardly choreographed. And at some point, the utter lack of clothed female characters becomes almost farcical.

There's certainly room in the Batman franchise for a book that focuses more on big, loud, action-oriented storytelling . A simplistic Batman book can still be an enjoyable one. Sadly, Dark Knight is anything but enjoyable right now.